Travis County renews interlocal agreement with Austin‑Travis County EMS as agency outlines growth, mental‑health response and new stations

The Commissioners Court on Jan. 28 approved renewing and amending the interlocal agreement with the City of Austin for provision of emergency medical services, following a presentation from Austin‑Travis County EMS leadership that highlighted system scale, clinical programs and station expansions.

County Executive Chuck Brotherton and ATCEMS Chief Robert Lukritz presented the annual performance briefing as part of the interlocal renewal. Lukritz said ATCEMS responded to about 137,000 calls for service in the last fiscal year (roughly 118,000 inside the City of Austin and just over 18,000 outside). The system includes 48 ambulances, 7 district commanders, 4 mental‑health responders on duty, community health paramedic case managers and specialty assets for mass‑casualty response.

Lukritz described several initiatives: an accredited 911 dispatch center with pre‑arrival medical instructions, a growing whole‑blood program (more than 400 administrations), predictive modeling to site future ambulances, expansion of immersive training assets and a nationally recognized community health paramedic program. He said in FY24 ATCEMS’ community health paramedics responded to about 6,200 mental‑health calls; only 11% of those required an ambulance.

New and expanded stations: Lukritz said ATCEMS opened Goodnight Ranch EMS Station 42 and Canyon Creek Station 43 recently and expanded a station in Eastern Travis County (Demand 8) to a 24‑hour facility, noting these moves aim to improve coverage in southeast and eastern parts of the county.

Budget and costs: Lukritz said the cost of service increased by roughly $18,000,000, a 3.5% rise over the prior year; he characterized the increase as comparable to other public safety entities managing growth. Commissioners asked for comparative year‑over‑year data and for more breakdowns on how specific call types (for example, pharmacy‑delivery or non‑emergency navigation calls) drive volume and resource decisions.

Vote and context: Commissioner Howard moved approval; Commissioner Shea seconded; the court voted unanimously. Commissioners and staff praised ATCEMS’ integration across jurisdictions and its moves to divert low‑acuity calls away from ambulance transports through navigation and partnerships with community providers.

Key quote: "Our mission is solely medically focused...so that the most emergent calls get those top priority, get the fastest response times," Lukritz said during the briefing.

Next steps: ATCEMS will provide additional comparative data and continue coordination with county permitting and development offices to better anticipate service needs tied to growth and new developments.